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Train derails in Egypt, killing 19

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Two train cars separate and hop the tracks in Giza, officials tell state news

At least 19 die, and 107 are injured as a result, a railway official says

An Egyptian ambulance official says he fears the casualty toll could grow

The train was carrying Central Security recruits from Assiut to Cairo

Train cars filled with Egyptian security force recruits hopped the tracks and crashed in Giza early Tuesday, killing at least 19 people and injuring some 107 others, a local official said.

The train carrying Central Security conscripts was heading from Assiut north to Cairo when it partially derailed around 12:45 a.m. Tuesday (5:45 p.m. ET Monday) in Giza, National Railways Authority Chairman Hussain Zakaria said, according to state-run EGYNews.

The partial derailment happened after two cars separated from the rest of the train, said Transportation Ministry spokesman Mohammed Shahat, according to the same news organization.

Video aired by official Nile TV showed the crushed front and side of one detached train car on a small embankment as throngs of people lingered nearby.

Giza Gov. Ali Abdul Rahman, who offered the preliminary death toll, said the incident happened at Badrasheen station in the city just south of Cairo.

The number of people injured in the incident is growing, said Dr. Mohammed Sultan, the head of Egypt's ambulance service. He told EGYNews there were 66 ambulances on the scene to transport the injured and dead.

Deadly train crashes are not uncommon in Egypt. Last November, for instance, 51 died and 17 were injured when a train slammed into a bus in Assiut, a city about 320 kilometers (about 200 miles) south of Cairo.

In October 2009, at least 15 were killed when two trains collided in Al-Ayyat, about 70 kilometers (about 43 miles) south of the capital.